“I will move the process forward. But it is clear that the process is not going to be smooth so long as terrorists kill . . . There are killers who can’t stand the thought of peace. And it’s sad and it’s pathetic,” Bush said.

“We’re still on the road to peace. It’s just going to be a bumpy road. And I’m not going to get off the road until we achieve the vision,” Bush said.

He added: “What’s more important than process is results and that we’ve got to work together to cut off the funding and the support and activity of the terrorist killers who can’t stand peace.”

Asked about Israeli charges that Arafat is trying to sabotage peace, White House press secretary Ari Fleischer replied: “Yasser Arafat never played a helpful role before. I don’t know what role he is playing now but he has never been helpful.”

Fleischer added that Bush “continues to believe that Abu Mazen is a reformer. But it is important that all in the Palestinian institutions take every action possible to fight terror.”